Blood Fued
by GuardianSoulBlade
Summary: AU, a vampire hunter, bound and determined to avenge the death of his ancestor at the hands of an ancient vampire leads to a conflict Gar isn't quite ready for. Misunderstanding complicates bonds that go back 400 years.  BB-Raven.
1. Chapter 1

**Blood Feud**

**Summary:** AU, a vampire hunter, bound and determined to avenge the death of his ancestor at the hands of an ancient vampire leads to a conflict Gar isn't quite ready for. Misunderstanding complicates bonds that go back 400 years.

**Disclaimer: **_I own nothing. Except my imagination._

**Chapter One**

The city was bustling with people as Raven Roth watched the humans walked by. They were busy going about their lives.

Raven enjoyed watching people moving about, living their lives. In her long years she'd managed to genetically engineer artificial blood, she'd suggested it be used to help the humans but she also drank it in order to keep from drinking from humans.

She'd settled down to live in Jump City and was quite happy with her life.

Raven stared across the street; there was a young man, brown hair and green eyes. He seemed to be looking at her. His piercing green eyes burned into hers.

Raven didn't back down from his gaze. It had been a long time since any human had treated with defiance. It amused her. She did have to wonder who he was though.

Garfield Logan found himself drawn to a lovely figure across the street. He'd never seen anyone so beautiful. Her violet hair was short and she wore some jeans and a t-shirt.

They held each other's gazes for awhile, and then she left without a word. It was getting late out and he was itching to get to work. He'd have a lot of the work to do; the vampires were starting to attack humans more frequently. He had to keep his guard up, and hopefully, he'd find the one he was searching for the one vampire who had caused his family pain and suffering. He'd find her somehow, he wasn't sure how he would do that, but he was going to kill the vampire.

Garfield brandished his gun, it was time to go, the bloodsuckers were out in full force and they weren't going to get away.

Raven sat in a chair staring out at a starlit sky. It was too nice outside. Her sour mood didn't help much. What was bothering her? That boy, maybe, he was handsome enough, brown hair, green eyes, she'd seen plenty of them.

There was something that made her uncomfortable around him. The way he'd looked at her, maybe. There'd be something familiar about him. He reminded her of someone she'd not seen for four hundred years. It shouldn't matter to her; he was just a human after all.

"_Why would you want me, a lowly human?" he asked._

"_I want you because you're one of the few humans who don't treat me like a monster."_

"_You're too beautiful to possibly be a monster."_

"_Jonas, don't flatter me," Raven scoffed._

"_I'm not," Jonas smiled. "I do think you're beautiful."_

_He kissed her deeply; she was going to be happy with him, they were going to be married. She felt content._

Raven sighed, snapping out of her reverie, she would have had a happy life, but the human she'd fallen in love with was the brother of a vampire hunter as he was, so naturally, it hadn't gone over well and after a vicious fight, her fiancé was murdered by his brother, who convinced the rest of his family that she'd murdered him in a fit of bloodlust. They swore that they and their descendants would hunt her down and kill her. She'd spend the years not moving too frequently, only leaving when anyone from that family moved into the area where she was living. She'd been able to evade them for a hundred years, but with the humans being able to travel the globe, she had no doubt they would eventually discover her whereabouts.

Her thoughts turned back to the past, she'd seen many things in her long life and she remembered all the people she'd seen and met many different people, some of which were not anyone she'd wish to meet again.

_1609 _

_Raven had been alive for 50 years. She'd traveled the world and was passing through Hungary. Having acquired wealth, she'd lived as a wealthy woman. _

"_Raven, There is_ _a woman you must meet_,_" Jonas ushered her into a grand room._

"_You still haven't told me your name," Raven told him._

_"This is Countess Elizabeth Báthory," he said._ _Raven did everything she could in her willpower not to visibly wince. Elizabeth Báthory was a countess who was known for her cruelty to her servant girls. Raven could smell the blood on her and did her best not to shown any emotion._

_The stories of the vampires had spread all over Europe. But Elizabeth Báthory was an ordinary human. Still, rumors of what went on in her castle at Čachtice disturbed Raven, and people thought _she_ was a monster. _

_She greeted Elizabeth with civility; the countess didn't say much to her, she seemed to be distracted, as if she wanted to be somewhere else. _ _Raven took her leave and left the room. Finding her way outside, she found a discreet hiding place to vomit._ _"Hello Raven," the voice was kind and friendly. Raven turned around to see Jonas._

_"What are you doing here?" Raven said, composing herself, she was surprised to say the least, she thought she'd left him inside._

_"I'm surprised she disturbs you, vampire."_

_"What gave me away?" she asked curiously._

_"I've been searching for you for a long time, it's part of my job as a vampire hunter."_

_"A vampire hunter, I can't recall when I last encountered one," Raven gave Jonas a smile. "This will be amusing. What's your name?"_

_"Jonas Logan," he told her._ _Raven frowned. The surname was familiar to her. The Logan family, how disturbing, in truth she'd wanted to find the Logan family, for deeply personal reasons._

_"Are you going to kill me here and now?" she asked._

_"Not yet, but sometime I will," Jonas told her. _

Raven sighed, she was bored. The night was young; going out on the town would do her some good. Maybe she might be able to see that young man she'd seen earlier. The young man was handsome and attractive to her, and most humans did not catch her eye, and there was something appealing about him that drew her to him.

Slipping into some comfortable clothes, she headed out, maybe tonight would be interesting after all.

* * *

Garfield Logan had been out all night, fighting for hours on end against swarms of vampires. They'd been out in full force, and he'd managed to prevent a few attacks but it didn't seem to impact the amount of vampires out at night.

"There he is!" a vampire snarled. "Eat him!"

Gar fired his gun; the silver bullets flew into his enemy and watched as the monster dropped dead.

"Good riddance!" Gar glared.

"How long are you going to keep this up?" a voice asked.

Gar looked up, staring at the figure that was standing on the roof. The woman was the one he'd seen earlier, the pretty girl was staring at him.

The lovely figure had an amused expression on her face. Garfield saw her disappear and saw a mist swirl and form and travel down and reform right next to him.

"You shouldn't play with such dangerous toys," she said playfully, lightly shoving the gun away. She leaned in close and inhaled his scent. He felt familiar, Raven felt a connection to him but she wasn't sure why.

"Don't come near me!" Gar shoved her back.

"Why so nervous, I won't bite," she said. "What's a handsome boy like you doing out here?"

"I hunt monsters like you, vampire," Gar snarled.

"Must you be so rude? I haven't done anything to you," Raven gave him an appeasing smile. She lightly ran a finger down his cheek. He visibly flinched.

"Get your hands off me!" Gar pushed her hand away.

"Are you actually going to use that gun of yours?" Raven teased, "Or is it just for show?"

"How's this for a show?" retorted Gar as he opened fire.

Raven smiled a little, he was a decent shot, any other vampire would be dead but she'd done more than her share of dodging bullets and she could avoid them even without any of her immense power. Being over 400 years old she'd learned many things, and knew how to dodge bullets without using vampires' tricks or powers.

Seeing he'd run out of silver bullets, she moved to engage him in hand to hand combat before he could reload.

Gar blocked a punch and kicked out hard as he tried to tackle her to the ground but she managed to stay on her feet.

Raven continually elbowed him repeatedly. Gar struggled to try to get her into a position that he could stake her. He managed to get her on the ground and grabbed his stake and tried to drive it into her heart, he tried to kill her, but he didn't have enough strength to finish her off. Holding his hand back with hers, Raven gave him a mischievous smirk.

"I don't think you could drive that through my heart. My chest isn't made of cardboard. Do you think this is _Buffy the Vampire Slayer _where vampires' chests are the thinnest and can be killed by a wooden stake?"

"Shut up and die already!" Gar growled. Unexpectedly, Raven threw him off of her. She gave him a smirk.

"You're the most fun I've had in a hundred years. What's your name, vampire hunter?"

"Garfield Logan," he replied.

Raven stopped for a moment and stared at him. Logan, his surname was Logan. So he was a member of the Logan family. No doubt he was looking for her, the Logan family had sworn to hunt her down and kill her, it was an ancient feud, one that was a result of a grave misunderstanding.

Raven's expression became sadder and her face darkened. A light seemed to flash before her eyes and instead of young Garfield, she saw Jonas, the hunter she hadn't seen in four hundred years.

The resemblance between the two was uncanny. Gar looked very much like him. The emotional memories it brought back made her feel an old sorrow.

"Well, Mr. Logan, I'll see you again soon." Raven vanished from his sight.

Raven reappeared in her vast house. The heaviness in her heart was too much to bear. She'd lost too much because of the Logan family, she'd fallen in love with Jonas Logan and they both had hoped that their marriage would bring peace between the humans and the vampires, but Jonas' brother John had murdered him after they had engaged each other in a verbal battle. John had framed her for it, and had convinced the entire Logan family that she'd killed him, she'd fled and been evading them ever since.

Raven's thoughts turned to Garfield Logan. He was certainly a handsome young man. He was intriguing and the connection between them was different than the other Logan family members she'd encountered in the past, they had always tried to come after her, and even though he had done just that, he'd reacted differently than the others.

They had always tried to lure her in; some of them had even tried to goad her into drinking their blood or tried to seduce her in order to distract her so they could kill her. Not that it worked of course, she'd always managed to avoid them, she'd never hurt them, only rendering them unconscious and making her getaway.

Raven frowned, the boy intrigued her. His face lingered in her mind and she sighed. She tried not to think about him, but it was no use. She wanted to see him again. Despite the many things she'd done in her long life, she'd become bored. Perhaps Gar would bring some excitement back into her life, she'd been lonely, despite the fact that she knew many vampires and had many human connections, none of them were close to her, and she wanted someone who would be a companion and a friend. Raven hadn't wanted those things in years. She chided herself, she was becoming senile. She needed a drink.

Raven headed over to where a cup of artificial blood was waiting for her, "My life is just too complicated."

She drank deeply, the blood tasted metallic and pleased her, Raven's hunger was sated. She felt relief. Raven wondered how long it would be before she gave into her desires for human blood and turned on the very creatures she longed for peace with.

**Author's Note: **_My Hellsing fusion fic is on hold because I don't have all the source material, so enjoy this instead._


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Garfield walked into a nondescript building on the far side of Jump City. The owner looked up at him and broke out into a wide grin.

""Hey little man, hard night?" Vic Stone asked.

"Yeah dude, you could say that," Gar replied.

"You're out of bullets, how many of them gave you a hard time?"

"Mainly one, she was a real nuisance."

"Was she pretty?" Vic laughed. Gar was always easily distracted by the pretty girls.

"She was smokin' hot!" Gar admitted, much to his dismay. He couldn't believe he'd said that out loud.

"Ah, she must be one of the Ancient Ones," Vic looked thoughtful.

"Ancient Ones? What are they?"

"You never did pay attention to your mentors did you? The Ancient Ones are a breed of vampires that have lived for well over 200 years. Unlike the bloodsuckers of today, they don't mindlessly feed on humans. They can control their thirst for long periods of time or they'll invent a substitute for blood. They're quite intelligent and only the bloodlines of certain individuals reawaken their bloodlust."

"What'd this one look like?" Vic asked, any more information on Gar's quarry would be useful. He wasn't exactly a vampire hunter, but more like a technological genius when it came to engineering anti-vampire weaponry and researching the ghastly monsters.

"Violet hair, eyes to match, gray skin, said her name was Rachel," Gar frowned, "Why'd you ask?"

"Well no vampire matching that description is named Rachel, the only one matching that description is Raven."

"I can't believe she got away from me!" Gar exclaimed. "I've been searching for her for years! Ever since I learned to hunt!"

"Rumors have it she's a Dhampyr, half human, half vampire. No one can confirm this of course, she was born over 400 years ago."

"It doesn't matter, she's still a monster, and I'm going to kill her."

"You're always so black and white about this; don't you even want her side of the story?" Vic asked. He was not a vampire hunter, but one of his many talents was being able to discover secrets when it came to both sides of the human-vampire war and he'd uncovered many secrets the Hawthorn*** **Assembly, a group dedicated to vampire hunting, and he'd offered Gar information, but Gar always said no, and that his family had been blameless in the incident with Raven.

What would his family have to lie about? Why would they lie about what had happened?

Garfield sighed; there was something about Raven he couldn't get out of his mind. He could see her face in his mind's eye; she was gorgeous, attractive and alluring. He shook his head, he was distracted. She was everything that a vampire was, an attractive being that would lure victims to drink their blood, often until the victim died. But many victims usually survived, due to the fact that many vampires couldn't find the carotid artery. When they did, their victims died, and unfortunately, it was becoming a more frequent occurrence.

Vampires were also starting to attack during the day too, while sunlight did hurt them, some of them were able to ignore the pain and hunted during daylight hours. The Ancient Ones were immune to harm from sunlight, mainly because many of them were Dhampyrs and being half human, showed very few of the traditional vampires' weakness.

Garfield sighed as his thoughts turned to Raven. She was so beautiful, he felt drawn to her. Enchanting and gorgeous, lovely silver silken skin that made him want to reach out and touch it. Soft, sweet lips that begged to be kissed, he wondered if she had loved anyone before. He put the thought out of his mind, vampires don't have feelings; he convinced himself. His mind was playing games with him.

Turning his attention to his work, he began grabbing his equipment; he made sure to have his gun and ammo with him. He also had a silver stake with him.

It was going to be a long night. Vampire attacks were becoming more frequent. It was a very disturbing occurrence and he would do whatever he could to stop them. He would destroy them all, and especially Raven, the one vampire he hated the most. He reminded himself he hated her, because all vampires were evil monsters, and he'd be the one to kill them.

* * *

Raven walked through the halls of her vast mansion deep in thought. She didn't even turn as she heard a soft swirling and felt a familiar presence behind her.

"Adonis," she greeted him coolly. Adonis was also a vampire, he was half her age, but did not share her ideals that humans and vampires could coexist peacefully. He abided by her rules because she was the oldest among them. Ravens knew he was looking for an opportunity to get rid of her so he could have her prestige and position, and more importantly to him, lift the rule she had imposed that none of the Ancient Ones attack humans to drink from them.

"Are you going out to look for him?" Adonis asked curiously.

Raven immediately knew he was fishing for information. "It's none of your business if I am."

"I'm sorry my Lady, how rude of me, I'll be going now," he vanished. Adonis was sickened, any time a member of the Logan family showed up, she would become weak and sentimental. It was disgusting.

Adonis smiled to himself, _I have my opportunity now. The Logan family hasn't been active as vampire hunters for too long, not for 10 years. No doubt, thanks to Raven's attachment to Jonas, she'll become attached to this Garfield boy I've heard whispers about. He's a half decent hunter, wouldn't survive against me though. Once the time is right, I'll offer her to him as a peace offering, he'll kill her, I'll take control and murder the entire Hawthorn Assembly, and then we'll feast on human blood 'til we are satisfied, and there's be no one left to stop us._

* * *

Gar was surrounded by the vile creatures, they kept grabbing and grasping at him, they had ganged up on him. He kept up a constant stream of gunfire, trying to hit them. They kept up their attack, wearing him down, until Gar lost a grip on his handgun. It clattered to the concrete and he tried to get it back, but they kicked it far away.

He grabbed his stake and tried to fight them off, but it too was broken soon after. The vile monsters screamed and threw him down on the pavement. They pinned him down and leered at him with a despicable joy in their eyes.

"We'll have a feast!" they hissed. "A young, strong male!"

They sank their teeth into him. Gar couldn't stop the scream that was torn from his lips. The pain was unbearable; he could feel his blood leaking out from the puncture wounds. These horrible creatures were going to drink his blood or eat him alive. He couldn't fight them off no matter how hard he struggled.

"You're pathetic and disgusting!" a voice cried out, filled with rage.

Gar looked up to see the figure standing a short distance away.

Raven glowered at the disgusting creatures before her. These things weren't fit to be called vampires. They were monsters; she couldn't stand the sight of them.

Raven was upon them in a split second. She gripped them and began to slowly crush their heads.

"Please, My Lady, grant us mercy!" they pleaded.

Raven sneered. "You have no dignity; you'd drink from anything that moves and mindlessly kill your victims. You're all sniveling lumps of meat! I'm more than happy to rid myself of such disgraces to vampires!'"

She crushed them until they were nothing but dust, the rest of the group tried to flee, but something stopped them in their tracks.

"Where are you going?" Raven sneered. They backed away in horror. She had Gar's gun in her hand.

"You'd use a hunter's weapon?" they shrieked.

"Quite fitting, don't you think?" She shot them without hesitation. Gar stared in awe, He wasn't one of the best hunters, and he'd seen the best among them take out vampires in three shots. Raven took them out in two, one in the head and one in the heart.

He was too weak to move. "Why would you save me?"

"They disgust me; they're not worthy to be called vampires. Is that enough for you?"

"No, it's not!" Gar countered. "You hate my family; you've caused us nothing but pain."

"I don't hate your family, Garfield," Raven said sadly. "I never have."

"Why should I believe you?" he demanded.

"Because I'm telling you the truth, if anyone has caused pain, it's _your _family."

"What do you mean? You're the one who murdered Jonas!"

Raven looked as if he'd struck her. "Don't ever talk to me like you know what happened 400 years ago. I'll tell you the truth when you're ready."

"I'm grateful to you, as much as I can be," Gar said begrudgingly. "What do I owe you?"

Raven knelt down beside him and whispered, "I want a quick drink."

Gar couldn't believe his eyes, she was drinking from him! But it was different from the others. Raven was surprisingly gentle and she lapped at the wounds on his arm.

"You're going to kill me!" he said fearfully.

"Nonsense!" she smiled. "I'm fond of you, why would I do that? You're blood intoxicates me, and I need you. I'm not greedy, I won't drain you. Relax; you're perfectly safe with me."

Gar could hardly think that her drinking his blood could be called safe, but he was still too weak to move. Crawling up his body, she straddled him gently, leaning in close, she whispered, "Don't worry, I only need five minutes."

She sank her fangs into his neck. The pain hit him, but it wasn't the same as before. It didn't hurt as much. He could hear her drinking from him, but he was shocked as she gently stroked his shoulders, and held him close to her.

"Just as I promised," Raven smiled. She suddenly removed some bandages from her pockets and covered the puncture wounds. She handed him a wipe to clean off the blood. Raven handed him back his gun.

"What are you going to do now?" she asked.

"I—I don't know," he admitted. "What was your relationship with Jonas?"

"I loved him very much," Raven told him. He was shocked.

"Didn't think you had emotions," Gar was uncertain. Who was telling the truth? Was everything he knew a lie?

"I'm half human Gar; I have emotions just like you do."

"You're just messing with me," he tried to rationalize her actions. She was unlike any vampire he'd ever encountered.

"When you're ready to hear my story, I'll be waiting," Raven looked at him.

Gar didn't move. "I'm not sure I'm ready for it."

"I'll see you around, Gar," Raven moved close and kissed him.

Raven smiled to herself. How long had it been since she kissed a male? She hadn't felt emotional attachment to anyone in the longest time. Raven relaxed and leaned into the kiss, thoroughly enjoying the sensation of Gar's lips against hers. If only she could feel this way for an eternity. Her arms slipped around his shoulders as she gently stroked his face with her thumb.

Garfield was stunned, her mouth was warm and gently and coaxed his to dance with hers. Gar sighed and he felt strangely safe, as if the entire world had dissolved and there was just the two of them.

It seemed like forever before she pulled away.

"What was that for?" he asked curiously.

"A thank you for letting me drink your blood, I'm not ungrateful. I can usually control my bloodlust but there's something about you and your family that makes me lose control, it's something I can't explain."

"Why me?" Gar asked.

"You're just full of questions, I think it's time I left you," Raven finished cleaning the blood off her face and finished cleaning the blood off his neck.

"You're not…messy, like the other vampires," Gar stared at her, completely mesmerized and fascinated.

"I for one, appreciate humans, they are what keep me alive, so I'm grateful for your blood. You are a host, why should I be messy and let your blood spray everywhere and waste it?"

Garfield was confused. He was unsure of what to do. He owed Raven his life and he was torn by his obligation to kill the vampire and the fact that Raven had saved his life.

"I'll let you go, just this once, next time, I'll end you for good."

"You don't really mean that," Raven told him. "You'll come to me for answers. We'll meet again Garfield."

Raven vanished from sight. Gar looked around, but Raven was nowhere to be seen. He made sure he had all his his weapons and went home. He was going to sort things out for himself. Everything was too complicated.

**Author's Note:**

* _Hawthorn was a wood commonly used to make stakes to kill Vampire with, so I thought I'd use it, since I couldn't actually come up with anything cool __sounding, and all the cool vampire hunting group names have been taken, I'm looking at you Hellsing and Buffy the Vampire Slayer._


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Gar gave a growl of frustration. He'd been searching the Hawthorne Organizations ancient library, searching through his vast family history for anything concerning Raven. There were plenty of written records concerning his family's many encounters with her, she always managed to escape.

He found the various records to be somewhat entertaining. Each of his ancestors had described Raven in similar fashion. One of them even called her a "goddess", and had attempted to seduce her in order to kill her. She'd cleverly outwitted him by playing along with him and making her getaway when he was stark naked, preventing him from chasing her in public.

_I guess seduction's off the table_, he thought amused.

Still trying to find the answers, he kept trying to find more information on Jonas, the man Raven claimed to love. He'd heard the stories passed down through his family for generations. Still, he wondered, the curiosity was starting to gnaw at him.

His family hated her, and yet, she'd never truly tried to kill them besides the initial murder of Jonas, why was that? It didn't really make any sense, but still, he wanted to know the truth and the only way to learn it was to ask her about it.

As much as he despised asking her for something, he needed answers. But first he had to go about finding her.

He wasn't sure of how to go about doing that as her address was not on record anywhere, maybe he'd get lucky tonight and find her, then she would answer all his burning questions.

* * *

It was another meeting, Raven had been uneasy the last few weeks as vampire attacks were become more frequent, she hoped that she could convince the others to control their followers. But for some reason she could not explain, a sense of dread filled her as she approached the building.

Raven stepped into the room and noted that they were all looking at her and at Adonis as if they were waiting for something.

Raven glanced at the other Ancient Ones and immediately knew that she was in danger. Adonis approached her slowly.

"We've grown tired of playing this silly game of yours. We crave human blood, and you've kept it from us for far too long. I've come up with the perfect plan to get you out of our way and trick the hunters into letting their guard down."

Raven didn't have any time to react as a dozen vampires surrounded her and leapt forward, their teeth sunk into her flesh and she screamed, struggled and tried to use her powers to get away, but there was no escape. Adonis moved close to her, his fangs hovered near her neck.

"The fact that you are half human is intoxicating; I'm going to drink from you, as much as I please!"

His fangs sank into her skin, the agony is too much to endure, they were feasting on the blood that had coursed through her veins for 400 years and since she was immortal, she wouldn't die, but the weakness and agony was torment enough to drive anyone to unconsciousness. The other vampires drank from her as well; she could hear their greedy gulping and knew that if she survived she would dedicate herself to removing these monsters from the world.

"Hello Mr. Logan," Adonis said. The young man whirled, drawing his gun at the same time and pointed it at him.

"You're quicker than I thought," he commented, perhaps he wasn't being serious enough when it came to this one. "You can relax. I'm here to discuss a truce between your kind and mine."

"A truce, you must be joking!" Gar scoffed.

"We promise to stop hunting humans in exchange; we will give you a peace offering, something you'll appreciate."

"Like there's anything I'd accept from you!" Gar snapped.

"Why don't you come and see?" the vampire offered. Gar reluctantly followed him and was led to an abandoned warehouse.

"Is that blood on your shirt?" Gar demanded. "Have you been attacking humans?"

"No of course not," Adonis insisted.

Gar didn't quite believe him, he smelled like human blood and he was unsure of what to do.

"Go on inside, your gift is in the back," Adonis said as watched Gar went into the warehouse. "I won't bother to stick around, if she knows I'm here she might accuse me, but why would he believe anything she says?"

Garfield walked down the long hallway; the eerie feeling that had come over him when he entered hadn't left. He continued walking until he arrived at a large doorway.

His foot landed in something wet and he smelled a familiar, unpleasant aroma. Blood, something was in here. He opened the door. The sight before him shocked and disgusted him.

He saw a figure covered in blood that dripped onto the floor. She was chained to a wall with silver stakes pinned through her wrists and legs. Raven looked like she was in terrible agony and he was shocked she was still alive.

"You must be thrilled," Raven said, looking down on him with a miserable expression on her face. "They've turned on me, and now you and the Organization will have my head on a platter."

_What should I do? I've always wanted to kill her, but this is wrong. _For her own kind to betray her and hand her over to him was despicable. Not to mention he had been suspicious of Adonis ever since he'd approached him with talk of a truce, it made sense that the other Ancient Ones would want to get rid of her, seeing how she was something of a pacifist.

It would be different if he'd defeated her in a fight where it was skill vs. skill, but to use him to further some other agenda by using his vengeance was something that wouldn't sit well with him, besides, he wanted the truth about the blood feud between their families, and he couldn't learn the truth if she was dead.

"I'm getting you down from there," Gar moved a bench over so he could reach the silver stakes embedded in her wrists. He removed them as she groaned in pain. He then removed the stakes in her legs and pulled off the chains binding her to the wall.

Raven collapsed and Gar pulled her into his arms. He watched as her blood re-entered her body, she still felt weak but she wasn't in pain. She stared up at him, wondering what would become of her now.

"Are you going to kill me?" she asked. "You promised me you would the next time we met."

"Not today, under any other circumstance I probably would, but I'm not going to end your life because it's part of someone else's agenda." Garfield felt the weight of her body in his arms.

He couldn't help but pity her, she was alone in the world, her kind had abandoned her, the humans, such as he hated her. He saw the look of loneliness in her eyes made his hatred vanish; he knew that feeling very well, he'd never been able to let himself because he feared his work would kill the ones he loved.

"You'll be coming home with me, you probably can't go back to your own house," Gar thought it was strange that he was saying it, but where else would she go?

"I'm grateful," Raven told him. He led her outside to his car, he had driven in his car and he figured that Adonis had left a long time ago. He drove them to his house, and Raven was surprise, his house was pretty big, not as large as the mansion she had owned, but it was a considerable size.

"You're welcome to come in, you should get some rest. I'll get you something to drink." Gar helped her inside and to the kitchen chair.

Gar searched in his fridge and brought out some tea. Raven accepted it gratefully and drank. The liquid gave her a little bit of strength and she did feel better.

Raven stared at him as he helped her up and led her to a guest room in his house. She wondered what was going on and what his motives were for all this.

"Why did you do all this for me?"

"I want answers, plain and simple. I want you to tell me about Jonas and what happened between you two."

"I see, I'll tell you as soon as I regain my strength."

"I can tell you're thirsty," Gar said as he exposed his neck to her. "Drink, you'll need it."

"I—I can't do that, it wouldn't be right for me to—" Raven protested.

Raven saw that Gar had a knife in his hand, "I'm not giving you a choice. Either drink from my neck or I'll cut my hand so you'll drink."

Raven nodded, "It seems I have no choice."

She moved closer to him and let her fangs sink into his flesh. She tried her best to make it painless but she heard him grunt.

_I won't take too much, I promise you._

"I know that," Gar told her. "I don't know what's come over me that I would let you do this."

_It is a strange predicament isn't it? You who hate vampires have invited me, a __Dhampyr__ into your home and have willingly let me drink your blood._

"So you are half human."

_Yes. Do you want me to explain everything to you now? The truth about Jonas, and what really happened?_

"Not tonight," Gar told her as Raven pulled away. "You look tired. You should get some sleep."

"I don't know if I should. How do I know I'll be safe here?"

"Believe me, the vampires know to stay far away from my residence, they'd never suspect you staying here."

"Well Raven, I'll see you tomorrow," Gar said.

He moved close and kissed her gently. Raven was surprised. She hadn't expected him to do that. His lips moved over hers and he sighed, Gar couldn't help but love her, they were similar in their hardships and lived in a world few normal people could understand. Though she hadn't given him the details of the nature of her relationship with Jonas, he had a feeling it ended badly. Truth be told he was tired of being alone, and he had a feeling she felt that way too.

They held each other close; Gar stared into her eyes as they parted.

"You're so beautiful," he whispered in her ear. "I can't take my eyes off you."

"You and many other men have said that," Raven sighed. The heat of his body pleased her. She'd missed companionship, the warmth of the human body.

Raven let her gaze travel down to his chest, no doubt he was handsome, and she could feel his lean muscles tense against her fingers. She toyed with his shirt playfully. It was very tempting to give into her desires and indulge in her physical needs that she hadn't thought of for an eternity.

"Don't you think we're rushing this?" Gar asked.

"Maybe you're right. But the vampires don't have "marriages". We take mates, who will bare us offspring. Other vampires will often have more than one mate. Monogamy puzzles us as it is mainly a human trait and the novelty of it does compel some of my kind to marry a human. Or sometimes we practice serial monogamy, but Damphires such as I are rare. Not that you humans are very loyal creatures either."

"You should get some rest, you're exhausted," Gar told her. Things were moving too fast. She seemed interested in him physically, but it was not that he wasn't ready for that sort of thing yet, after all, it wouldn't be right for him to get involved with her, considering the fact that he might be thrown out of the Hawthorne Organization for simply housing a vampire, if somehow she managed to seduce him who knew what they would do and how they would punish him. A wicked thought entered his mind, if he was the one doing the seducing, they couldn't say it was all her idea.

No, he would be a gentleman in this situation. He wasn't about to let Raven dictate what happened between them.

"I'm going to destroy them," she told him.

He stopped. "What?"

"The ones who turned on me, I'm going to kill them," Raven told him simply.

"I thought you were a pacifist," he looked at her in surprise. His emotions aside, he was surprised that she was apparently abandoning what she continually espoused all her life that vampires and humans should coexist peacefully.

"I thought my pacifism could bring peace, it hasn't, they've been putting up with me so they could find an opportunity to kill me."

"I think I love you."

"You're not the only one," Raven observed. "I hope that we could have a truce of some sort."

"Perhaps a truce might work, but how do I know you'll keep up your end of the bargain?"

"I have never broken my word."

"I'm keeping you under my protection until I can learn what's really going on here."

"It's not like I have anywhere to go." Raven turned her thoughts to something else, she was feeling tired and wanted to sleep.

"Do you have some clothes I can change into, I'm not sleeping in blood stained clothes," Raven looked at him.

Gar found something she could wear and gave it to her. He turned and left.


End file.
